The football betting Guru’s at BParlay.com have put together a College Football Sports Betting guide.
College football is one of the most exciting sports that occur in a calendar year. College football is special because of the pageantry and emotion that’s always on display every Saturday in the fall. There are different levels of college football, but the top-tier schools will usually play in front of 80,000 – 100,000 passionate fans.
History of College Football
College football has extensively developed since colleges first started competing. College football was based on rugby from Great Britain and Canada. The first college football games did not look anything like the competition we see today.
The game was very unorganized before the 19th century when intramural teams began emerging on college campuses. However, every school had unique rules for its version of football.
The name football was not widely established in the early 19th century. Even though many colleges were playing football under different rules, there were some commonalities.
At all schools, a large number of people were trying to advance a ball to an endzone on two separate teams. The games were very violent, and injuries would frequently occur. New Haven’s city forced Yale to ban football in 1860 because of the injuries that students were enduring.
Organised College Football Explained
Organized college football started becoming a reality in 1869 when Rutgers faced Princeton in the first game ever. This game did not resemble football as we know it today, but universal rules started being established.
In 1894, rules became more concrete, and schools all over the country adopted a standard set of guidelines to follow during the game. The first four schools to field a team were Princeton, Columbia, Yale, and Rutgers.
Harvard, McGill, Tufts, and Yale followed these institutions, and after this, the game started expanding throughout the nation. This development caused major rivalries to be formed, like Army vs. Navy and Yale vs. Harvard.
The NCAA took over college football in 1910 when there was a call for a significant organization to organize the game and make it safe. People were dying on the football field because of unsafe rules and a lack of equipment.
The NCAA started as the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States in 1905 when 62 schools joined forces to make the game safer. The NCAA banned the flying wedge play, which was causing deaths to college football players.
They also legalized the forward pass, which was not extensively utilized in the early 1900s. Nevertheless, it became critical for the game as the 20th century advanced. There would be no football today without the forward pass because of how much offenses rely on throwing.
College football became modernized in the 1930s, but it still had a long way to go before resembling today’s game. In 1930, competitions became national, which helped this cause and the explosion of the NFL helped draw people to the game.
In 1958, the first NFL Championship Game occurred, and its success brought people to watching college football. This was because the college football players would eventually become the athletes shining on the professional level.
This transition is why the NFL Draft is one of the most popular events of the year for college and NFL football fans. College football started with four bowl games in 1940, and now there are over thirty.
The College Football Playoff has been implemented as well, so the game is still developing. Although, the main rules have been consistent since the early 1900s. The main changes to the rulebook in today’s game are to make it safer.
Season Schedule
There are two levels to Division I college football. When you think of college football, the FBS is the first thing that comes to mind. The FBS is the upper level of Division I football, where teams go to bowl games.
The FCS is the lower level of Division I athletics where teams compete in a playoff series where there is one National Champion. There is a National Champion in the FBS, but only four teams make the playoffs.
FBS usually schedule FCS teams for easy wins on their early-season schedule. Nevertheless, FCS teams upset FBS schools every season. There are teams like North Dakota State, who frequently defeat FBS programs who schedule games against the Bison.
The college football season begins in early August as players report for training camp. Teams will practice for a month before they start playing games.
There are ten FBS Conferences in the country and 14 in the FCS. They are also independent teams in the FBS and FCS that do not play in their conference. The FBS and FCS have slightly different season structures.
In the FBS, teams play 12 games in the regular season. Each conference has its own specifications for games played in the organization. At the end of the 12-game regular season, conference championship play ensues.
After conference championship games, the college football selection show occurs, and teams find out their postseason fate.
A squad must win six games to become bowl eligible. There are certain conference champions who have automatic bids to larger bowl games. The most significant bowl games are called the New Year’s Six, and they are played on New Year’s Eve and Day. Check out the Bparlay.com NFL Betting guide for more insights into someo the wagering options.
The College Football Playoff games are contended in this slate. Every team’s goal is to be picked in this group of four to compete for a National Championship.
The College Football Playoff
Before the College Football Playoff began, there was a National Championship Game, but only two teams were selected. Critics would often think that the selection committee did not make the correct choices, which caused the playoff to enter the college football landscape.
The College Football Playoff began in 2014 with Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State. The two semifinals are played at a New Year’s Six Bowl venue, including the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl.
The sites alternate every year. The two winners of the semifinal compete the following Monday in the National Championship Game. Alabama has the most playoff wins in the history of the College Football Playoff with eight.
The Crimson Tide has also won the most National Championships with three since the playoff was instituted. The Clemson Tigers have won two championships since 2014.
The Power Five
There are ten conferences in the FBS, but five of them stand out above the rest. The major conferences are called the Power Five. The National Champion and College Football Playoff teams usually come out of this group.
The group’s five conferences are the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC. The most dominant conference out of this list is typically the SEC which includes Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida, LSU, and so many more powerhouses.
Power Five schools are successful because of the talented recruits that choose to play for these programs. Recruits are starred as a ranking. The best players are given four and five-star ratings.
Power Five schools target the top players in the country. Their annual success, massive facilities, and countless resources separate these schools from smaller programs.
Best Programs in College Football History
Every program has its seasons on top, but some programs have been consistently good since their inception into the college football landscape.
The most winningest program in the FBS is the University of Michigan Wolverines. Michigan competes in the Big Ten Conference.
The Wolverines have won 964 games as of the 2020 season. Their total winning percentage is not the best in history at .727, but it’s still one of the best. The school has won 11 National Championships, with their most recent title coming in 1997.
The Ohio State University is second on the total wins list with 931 as of 2020. The Buckeyes have the best winning percentage of all-time at .730, one point higher than Alabama. Ohio State has won eight National Championships.
The team in third place is the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide have a winning percentage of .729, and they have won 929 career games. However, Alabama has won 18 National Championships, which is more than any other team in the United States.
Nick Saban has been a significant reason for Alabama’s success over the past decade and a half. He has led the Tide to six National Championships thanks to his fantastic leadership ability and football knowledge.
The University of Texas Longhorns and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish round out the fourth and fifth spots on the list.
College Football Records
There are hundreds of records in the books for college football. The records are broken down by position, season, career, and so many other categories. There are many familiar faces in the record books from recent years.
The FBS leader in yards in a season belongs to Joe Burrow, the quarterback out of LSU. Burrow accumulated 6,040 total yards through the air and on the ground. Burrow won the Heisman Trophy for his effort in 2019.
Burrow’s collegiate success gained the attention of NFL scouts. Heading into 2019, he was projected to be a sixth-round pick. After he led the Tigers to the National Championship, he was picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The single-game record holder for yardage is Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is known throughout the world because of his recent NFL success. Mahomes led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl Championship in 2019.
Before he was leading Kansas City to titles, he was a superstar at Texas Tech University. On October 22, 2016, he racked up 819 total yards against Oklahoma State. He threw for 734 passing yards and ran for another 85.
The Heisman Trophy
Many awards are given annually in college football, but the most prestigious prize is the Heisman Trophy. The Heisman is given to the most outstanding player in the country. It’s usually won by a running back or quarterback.
A few receivers have won the award, including DeVonta Smith in 2020. Charles Woodson is the only defensive player ever to win the prize. The Heisman is presented in December in New York City.
The Downtown Athletic Club established the trophy in 1935. The first winner was Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago. The award is named in honor of John Heisman, who was the club’s director. He died in 1936, which caused the trophy to bear his name.
The Heisman Trophy Trust took over the presentation of the award in 2002 from the Downtown Athletic Club.
College football is a special sport. It has evolved over the years, but it will never stop being appealing to people throughout the world.
